Aaron Donald — the one that got away — haunts Lions (article from Detroit Free Press)
Jeff Seidel
http://www.freep.com/story/sports/columnists/jeff-seidel/2015/12/13/detroit-lions-st-louis-rams-aaron-donald/77267884/
ST. LOUIS – This was cruel and unusual punishment.
It’s one thing that the St. Louis Rams beat the Detroit Lions on Sunday, 21-14.
But how they did it was especially cruel for fans.
Because Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald just destroyed the Lions. He turned into a one-man wrecking crew who hit quarterback Matthew Stafford six times and finished with three sacks.
Remember, the Lions could have drafted Donald in 2014 — as if you could ever forget. But after they picked tight end Eric Ebron instead, many fans were outraged. And on Sunday, that decision to pass on Donald came back to haunt the Lions.
“He was certainly disruptive — the tackles for losses and the sacks and the hurries and things,” St. Louis coach Jeff Fisher said. “There’s nothing against them, but they’ve had 10 days to prepare for Aaron Donald, and that just shows you the type of player he is. They’re double-teaming him. He’s breaking double teams. We created some one-on-one matchups for him by call design, and when you do that, he usually wins.”
That’s putting it nicely.
“You’re supposed to win one-on-ones,” Donald said. “That’s why they brought me here. When I get (a one-on-one opportunity), I’m supposed to win it. I’m just doing my job.”
His job is pretty simple. Go destroy the offense. And that’s what he did Sunday.
Donald was a beast, continuously blowing through the line, disrupting the offense.
“Quite a bit, he was an issue,” Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. “He made a lot of plays for them. Quick. Just the type of things you anticipate from him. He did a nice job.”
Stafford agreed.
“I was trying to slide the line if I could, but they do a good job of showing blitz, so I’ve got to respect the fact that they might bring blitz and pick them up, and they may have to be one-on-one,” Stafford said. “They’ve got a great front four, especially 99 (Donald); 98 (Rams DT and former Lion Nick Fairley) played good today, so they’re good up front.”
Meanwhile, Ebron caught three passes for 27 yards.
And the link between these players, at least in the minds of the Lions’ fans, will never go away.
“Man, that’s one of my good friends,” Ebron said. “I’m happy for his success. I’m happy for the scheme he’s in. I’m happy they are giving him the opportunity to shine. I’m not upset. You guys are upset. The media is upset. The fans are upset. I don’t care. I didn’t choose myself to come here. They chose me to come here. There is nothing I can do about it.”
After the game, Donald was asked if he is the best pass rusher in the league.
“I’ve still got work to do,” he said. “I’m not satisfied yet, so I’ve got to just keep working.”
Hardworking. Unstoppable. Disruptive.
Donald would look amazing in a Lions’ uniform.
And that’s the cruelest part of all.
